As founding members of the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance, we follow their Principles, Standards & Code of Best Practice, which include the following examples of what independent advocacy is and is not. These examples can be helpful when considering whether to make a referral to our service.
Advocacy is:
- about standing alongside people who are in danger of being pushed to the margins of society
- about standing up for and sticking with a person or group and taking their side
- a process of working towards natural justice
- listening to someone and trying to understand their point of view
- finding out what makes them feel good and valued
- understanding their situation and what may be stopping them from getting what they want
- offering the person support to tell other people what they want or introducing them to others who may be able to help
- helping someone to know what choices they have and what the consequences of these choices might be
- enabling a person to have control over their life but taking up issues on their behalf if they want you to.
Advocacy is not:
- making decisions for an advocacy partner or group
- giving advice or telling an advocacy partner or group what to do
- providing mediation
- providing counselling
- providing befriending
- providing care and support
- solving all someone’s problems for them
- providing therapy
- creating a dependency
- acting in the interests or wishes other than those of an advocacy partner or group
- agreeing with everything a person says and doing anything a person asks.
